Cody

Over the past few months, a set of proposed reading materials for students in Cody has led to more than 40 complaints from parents, the resignation of a school board trustee—and that board’s decision to form a group to address all the complaints before any resources are adopted.

But, on Monday, the group of teachers that recommended the contentious reading materials decided to pull back their recommendation until policies change.

Cody High School teacher Rick Stonehouse chairs the group—and says the process hasn’t been working well so far.

Yellowstone National Park lost two hundred cabins this spring. They were part of the park’s largest lodging complex. No, it’s not in the Old Faithful area, nor Mammoth. Penny Preston reports it’s in Canyon Village, where the park’s biggest hotel once stood.

PENNY PRESTON: The Canyon Hotel was Yellowstone’s largest, from 1910, until 1960. It was created by Old Faithful Inn architect Robert Reamer.

ROBERT REAMER: “My parents used to like to go up there and have dinner.”

The Wyoming House of Representatives has given initial approval to a bill that sets up a state loan program and also helps fund the expansion of a Cody business.

The bill allows loans to be used for large economic development projects. It would also provides $24 million in state money for a company to expand its operation in Cody. Officials say it will create over 100 jobs. Cody Representative Sam Krone says these types of loans will help diversify Wyoming's economy.

In the governor’s budget last week, one area that didn’t get a lot of attention is a proposal to increase funding to communities and counties by $175 million. That would be a $40 million increase over his previous proposal. 40 percent of that money would go for infrastructure, such as roads, but the rest would go into operations. If approved, it would come at a time when most local governments are dealing with less revenue. Wyoming Public Radio’s Bob Beck reports.

BOB BECK: Governor Matt Mead says he’s tried to make local government funding a priority since he took office.

Cody resident Martha Kinkade tells her daughter Becky the story of a wild horse only she could ride. Martha’s future husband, Harley, needed someone to ride the horse while he was gone during the summer, so Martha took the reins.

Now that the government shutdown is over, Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks have re-opened, and local communities are hoping business will pick up again.

Scott Balyo with the Cody Country Chamber of Commerce says the area saw a 25 to 30 percent drop in business while the parks were closed.

“The first couple of days of the shutdown, we probably saw a slight increase in business, because people were hopeful that it would be short lived,” Balyo said. “So we had people who were willing to stay in the area and wait and see if the park would reopen.”

Historically, many museums have been neatly divided: by genre, by artist, by time period. Now curators are mixing up exhibits, so works are in conversation (or in contrast) with one another. A prime example is the Whitney Western Art Museum at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, in Cody. Curator Mindy Besaw explains why she displays old and new works side by side.

In this installment of Wyoming Stories, Stephanie Reutner interviews her neighbor Noel Richardson, both residents of Jelm. Richardson worked for the Forest Service in 1957, spraying trees against beetle kill around Cody and Yellowstone. He remembers a chef that cooked for the camp.

The chef, named Phonograph Jones, was in his 80s then and had also cooked for Buffalo Bill Cody and Prince Albert I on his trip to Wyoming 100 years ago. His great great grandson, Prince Albert II, is in Wyoming this week.

Hailing from the mountains and plains of Northern Wyoming, Luke Bell’s music is shaped by his lineage of ranchers, tobacco farmers and ministers. This young singer-songwriter naturally brings us a blend of the old time blues/country sound and contemporary lyricism about poverty, loss, hardship, and redemption.

Thursday Marks the 100th Anniversary of Prince Albert I’s trip to Wyoming, during which he hunted and camped with Buffalo Bill Cody.

During his visit, the prince will be presenting the inaugural Camp Monaco prize to Dr. Arthur Middleton and Joe Riis to fund their study of the area’s elk migration. The grant is provided by the University of Wyoming’s Biodiversity Institute, the Prince Albert Foundation’s United States branch, and the Buffalo Bill Center of the West.

The fate of a major art collection hangs in the balance, as the estate of renowned Cody artist Harry Jackson looks for a benefactor. And unless a donor steps forward, Jackson’s life work will be piecemealed to pay the bills.

Since the 1990s, elk that migrate between Yellowstone National Park and Cody have been raising fewer calves. But the elk that stay in the foothills near Cody year round and don’t migrate have been doing very well. A new study looks at why that’s the case. Wyoming Public Radio’s Willow Belden spoke with the lead author on the report, Arthur Middleton. He says they spent years looking at the elk’s predators and habitat, and how those corresponded to elk pregnancies and overall wellbeing.

An ice climber from Powell, Wyoming is lucky to be alive after spending the night in the rugged South Fork Drainage several miles east of Cody. The Drainage is world renowned for its climbing opportunities and that is what drew second year climber, 54-year old Kenneth Richmond to the area Wednesday.

The Cody Chamber of Commerce is trying to raise 50 thousand dollars to be used to pay for snow plows to clear off the east entrance into Yellowstone National Park.

Park officials have said they needed to delay the plowing due to federal budget cuts and that would likely mean delaying the opening of Yellowstone by two weeks. Chamber Director Scott Balyo says it’s a serious issue for the Cody business community.

Wyoming native, Jeff Troxel, is a guitarist, composer, and songwriter from Cody. Jeff Troxel has released three albums, his newest Spirit of Our Time, was released in 2011. Troxel became the National Flatpicking Champion at the Walnut Valley Festival after winning state championships in both Wyoming and Utah.

The Yellowstone Jazz Festival will celebrate its 25th anniversary next week in Cody. In 1988, a group of jazz enthusiasts in Cody created the festival. Since then, it has grown in size and stature. This year, returning artists include the Yellowstone Big Band and Sunny Wilkinson.

The Wild West Balloon Fest draws ballooners from all over the country for a unique festival and competition set in a breathtaking arena. Balloons launch at dawn from a grass covered city park. The public is most welcome to mingle with the pilots and crews-indeed volunteers are welcome to help the crew. The pilots can instruct you on the spot for a new experience and a grand adventure. This is a small, relaxed rally. Safe, conservative flying is their hallmark, fun is the goal.